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Biomedical subjects

A S Mayer

Publications and source records attributed to A S Mayer.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Genetic and environmental modulation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout a large part of the western world. Although personal tobacco use has been implicated in a large number of these cases, it is also true that only a fraction of smokers ever develop respiratory problems. Therefore, the question of host susceptibility and other environmental factors should be considered. This paper will briefly review evidence for host susceptibility to COPD, review evidence for additional environmental risk factors for the development of COPD, and give an example of environmental interactions with a known genetic risk factor that further increase the risk of COPD.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2000

Occupational exposure risks in individuals with PI*Z alpha(1)-antitrypsin deficiency.

We obtained questionnaire and spirometry data from 128 alpha(1)-antitrypsin (alpha(1)AT)-deficient individuals with phenotype PI*Z to examine the relationship between chronic respiratory symptoms, airflow limitation, treatment requirements, and semiquantitative estimates of occupational exposure to dust, fumes, smoke, and gas. After adjusting for age, smoking, and prior lower respiratory tract infections, increased prevalence of chronic cough (OR = 4.69, 95% CI = 1.57-13.74, p = 0.006) and having left a job due to breathlessness (OR = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.07-6.92, p = 0.036) were seen in individuals reporting high mineral dust exposure compared with those with no exposure. Subjects reporting high mineral dust exposure also had significantly lower FEV(1) (31% predicted for high exposure versus 36% for low and 40% for unexposed, p = 0.032). The excess risk of chronic cough seen with occupational fumes or smoke exposure disappeared after adjusting for mineral dust exposure, but the association with lower FEV(1)/FVC ratio persisted (p = 0.022). Personal tobacco use was a significant risk factor for most outcome measures, but no interaction with occupational exposure was seen. These results suggest that occupational inhalational exposures are independently associated with respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation in severely alpha(1)AT-deficient individuals.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed1993

Respiratory arrest after local anesthesia for outpatient cataract surgery: a dramatic but transient complication.

Retrobulbar injection of anesthetic agents is common practice before ophthalmologic procedures. Rare but life-threatening complications of this procedure include respiratory depression and coma. We present the case of a woman with complete respiratory arrest and unresponsiveness who was brought into our emergency department from a local freestanding surgical center after preoperative retrobulbar anesthetic injection. Subsequently, the pathogenesis, clinical features, and supportive treatment for this dramatic but transient complication are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Recurring ventriculitis due to Citrobacter diversus: clinical and bacteriologic analysis.

Neonatal meningitis due to Citrobacter diversus is usually accompanied by the development of brain abscesses and tends to have high rates of morbidity and mortality. We report a case of a newborn with C. diversus meningitis and brain abscesses who relapsed after initial antibiotic therapy and from whom C. diversus was recovered from cerebrospinal fluid 4 years later during a neurosurgical procedure. Genetic differences in the early and late isolates were discovered, and explanations for this phenomenon are suggested. Possible mechanisms for prolonged persistence in the central nervous system are explored. This unusual case and the analysis of the organisms illustrate the unique features of C. diversus as a pathogen and underscore the need for developing optimal therapeutic strategies.

Cerebrospinal Fluid↗
PubMed1987

A gene for rabbit synovial cell collagenase: member of a family of metalloproteinases that degrade the connective tissue matrix.

We have determined the nucleotide sequence of a collagenase mRNA from rabbit synovial cells from which the primary structure of the encoded protein was deduced. This proteinase is 51% homologous to the enzyme that activates it from the zymogen form, rabbit synovial cell activator/stromelysin. Rabbit collagenase and activator/stromelysin thus share comembership in a gene family that includes human skin collagenase; the human and rabbit metalloproteinase, activator/stromelysin; and an oncogene-induced proteinase from rat named transin. The mRNA sequence of collagenase enabled us to completely map the structure of its gene, which is 9.1 kilobases and is composed of 10 exons and 9 introns. This is the first report of the structure of a collagenase gene. We show that it has striking similarity to additional members of this metalloproteinase gene family, transin genes I and II of rat. We have further sequenced genomic DNA flanking the collagenase gene and have identified nucleic acid elements of possible importance in gene regulation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗